glimpse

B1 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈglɪmps/ UK /ɡlɪm(p)s/ See IPA manual

Freq #8252

Meanings

1

noun
A quick, incomplete look at something.

From the window I could catch a glimpse of the lake.
2

verb
To see something briefly and only partly.

We glimpsed the singer as she got into her car.
3

noun
A brief or partial understanding of something.

The film gives us a glimpse into life during the war.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms glimpsedglimpsesglimpsing

Derived forms foreglimpseglemishglimpsableglimpseableglimpsedglimpselikeglimpserglimpsingunglimpsed

Appears in

Phrases (3)

See all

Etymology

The verb is derived from earlier glimse (obsolete), from Middle English glimsen (“to dazzle; to glisten; to glance with the eyes”), possibly from Old English *glimsian, from Proto-West Germanic *glimmisōjan, from Proto-Germanic *glimō, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰley- (“to shine”). Doublet of glimmer. The noun is derived from the verb. Cognates Middle Dutch glinsen (modern Dutch glinsteren (“to glint, glitter, shimmer, sparkle; to glance”), glimmen (“to gleam, shine”)) Middle High German glimsen (“to glow, smoulder”), glinsen (“to glimmer, shine”) Middle Low German glinsen, glintzen, glinzen (…

*ǵʰley- Proto-Indo-European glimsen Middle English *glimsian Old English *glimmisōjan Proto-West Germanic *glimō Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# glimpse

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈglɪmps/
**IPA (UK):** /ɡlɪm(p)s/
**Frequency rank:** 8252

## Meanings
1. A quick, incomplete look at something.
2. To see something briefly and only partly.
3. A brief or partial understanding of something.

## Examples
- From the window I could catch a glimpse of the lake.
- We glimpsed the singer as she got into her car.
- The film gives us a glimpse into life during the war.

## Derived Forms
- foreglimpse
- glemish
- glimpsable
- glimpseable
- glimpsed
- glimpselike
- glimpser
- glimpsing
- unglimpsed

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *ǵʰley-
- Root: glimsen
- Root: *glimsian
- Root: *glimmisōjan
- Root: *glimō

## Etymology
The verb is derived from earlier glimse (obsolete), from Middle English glimsen (“to dazzle; to glisten; to glance with the eyes”), possibly from Old English *glimsian, from Proto-West Germanic *glimmisōjan, from Proto-Germanic *glimō, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰley- (“to shine”). Doublet of glimmer. The noun is derived from the verb. Cognates Middle Dutch glinsen (modern Dutch glinsteren (“to glint, glitter, shimmer, sparkle; to glance”), glimmen (“to gleam, shine”)) Middle High German glimsen (“to glow, smoulder”), glinsen (“to glimmer, shine”) Middle Low German glinsen, glintzen, glinzen (…

## AI Etymology
Glimpse as a verb is derived from earlier glimse (obsolete), from Middle English glimsen (“to dazzle; to glisten; to glance with the eyes”), possibly from Old English *glimsian, from Proto-West Germanic *glimmisōjan, from Proto-Germanic *glimō, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰley- (“to shine”). Doublet of glimmer. The noun is derived from the verb. In current use, the main senses are “A quick, incomplete look at something” and “To see something briefly and only partly”.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

markdown